EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the letter to the editor from Lloyd Kerry which appeared in the Guardian on Sept. 10, 2018. In his letter, Mr. Kerry expresses concern about the difference consumers in B. C. and P.E.I. pay for milk. Thankfully, he seems to support the fact that producers need to receive their cost of production in order to stay in business.
However, to blame supply management for the difference the consumer pays for milk in B.C. and in P.E.I. is totally inaccurate. The price difference is not the result of supply management - rather it illustrates the fact that processors and retailers have the freedom to price milk, although I believe this is regulated to some degree.
In P.E.I., the Natural Products Marketing Act stipulates that milk cannot be sold for less than the wholesale price which retailers pay. Such legislation may or may not be in effect in B.C.
So, let us not make supply management the scapegoat in cases such as this. Rather, we must all do all we can to keep the system in place so that our farms and rural communities continue to thrive.
Edith Ling,
North Winsloe,
(Farm owner and P.E.I. women's district director of the National Farmers Union)
